Ultra-hard constructions comprising a body formed from ultra-hard materials such as polycrystalline diamond (PCD) are well known for their use in abrasive wear and/or cutting applications such as drilling subterranean formations. Conventionally, such PCD bodies are formed/sintered by subjecting a volume of diamond grains to conditions of high pressure-high temperature (HPHT) in the presence of a catalyst material. During this sintering process, the diamond body is oftentimes attached to a metallic substrate, which is useful for both providing the source of the catalyst material to the diamond volume during sintering, and for providing an attachment point for the resulting compact, thereby enabling attachment of the compact to a desired end-use device, e.g., to a drill bit or the like.
It is oftentimes desired that the PCD body be engineered to provide a desired combination of performance properties such as wear resistance, abrasion resistance, fracture toughness, thermal resistance, and impact resistance, making it uniquely suited to a particular end-use application to extend the service life of the body, This combination of performance properties is achieved by the selective choice of materials used to form the PCD body, the amount, location, and/or distribution of such materials within the body, and/or the manner in which the materials are treated or sintered during processing to provide the resulting material microstructure within the body.
In order to ensure that the resulting ultra-hard compact construction as engineered for a particular end-use application is in fact capable of displaying the desired performance properties for such application in a predictable and consistent matter, it is necessary to evaluate the material content and/or microstructure of the construction. Such evaluation is useful for controlling quality of the constructions being formed, and determining the ability of such constructions to perform as expected.
Methods useful for evaluating quantitative and/or qualitative features relating to the ultra-hard construction material content and/or material microstructure will vary depending on the nature of the construction. For ultra-hard material constructions used in tooling, wear, and cutting applications provided in the form of a PCD material, such qualitative and quantitative analysis has typically been provided through the use of destructive method or destructive testing. Destructive testing requires that the construction itself be cut or otherwise treated in a manner that physically exposes the different regions therein so that they can be evaluated and measured by visual inspection.
In an example embodiment, where the construction is one comprising an ultra-hard material such as PCD or cubic boron nitride (cBN), the construction itself is sectioned or cut, e.g., in half, so that the different regions forming the construction can be visually inspected for purposes of evaluating or measuring any variation in material properties in the sectioned region. In an example embodiment, such visual inspection is made with the assistance of a magnifying device such as a microscope, e.g., a scanning electron microscope.
While such destructive analysis and test methods are useful for providing useful certain information relating to the material properties of the sectioned region of the constriction, it is time consuming in that after the part is cut it must usually be further prepared by grinding, polishing or the like, then mounted for microscopic evaluation, and the microscopic evaluation must be taken over a number of different points to gather sufficient data to arrive at a numerical value, e.g., an average region thickness throughout the part. Further, the use of such destructive test method is expensive, and results in the measured parts being destroyed, thereby adversely impacting the economics of making the parts.
Further, this destructive technique is very limited as to the scope of the information gained regarding the material microstructure of the construction, as it only provides insight relating to the material properties of the specific region that's been sectioned. As a result, it provides very little if any information or insight as to the material properties of the remaining regions of the construction, which information would be useful for the purpose of gaining a more thorough understanding of the entire microstructure and the distribution of materials therein for purposes of evaluating its anticipated performance in a particular end-use application.
It is, therefore, desired that a system including a measurement device and method for using the same be developed that is capable of providing qualitative and/or quantitative information relating to the material properties within a material microstructure of an ultra-hard construction in a manner that is not destructive. It is desired that the system and method be capable of providing such desired qualitative and/or quantitative information as it relates to a greater extent of the construction material microstructure than previously obtainable by destructive method. It is further desired that the system and method be capable of providing such qualitative and/or quantitative information in a manner having a high and consistent degree of accuracy. It is still further desired that the system and method be capable of providing such desired quantitative and/or qualitative information for constructions having material regions disposed therein that are nonplanar or nonlinear in configuration.